Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,110 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,110 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 58.6% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 64.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $44.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.64 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $59.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.98). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 6.53%. The business had revenue of $214.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.14%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on California Water Service Group from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. UBS Group raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet lowered California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.50.

California Water Service Group Profile

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.